a_forbes

Dog Soldiers is a fun little horror movie that accomplishes what it sets out to do. It borrows heavily from other films, but it is all done in such loving fashion that we forgive it as homage rather than theft. What it lacks in originality and plot it makes up for in energy and fun-factor. The story is this: a small group of British soldiers are on manoeuvres in the Scottish wilderness and get attacked by werewolves. That's essentially it. What follows is a fairly straightforward chase/barricade movie with a lupine twist. Think Night of the Living Dead with fleas. Some of the humour falls flat (one character seems to be written exclusively so that his name can be used for a rather lame pop-reference/one-liner) and a few of the story's contortions are poorly explained (Lon Chaney Jr. could jump through most of the plot holes, with room on both sides), but it's still a fun little flick with a shnazzy Brit feel. Best of all: the filmmakers understand that men in hairy costumes are more frightening when seen in heavy shadow and in fast cuts. Recommended for the horror fan with a spare bowl of popcorn.

7/10

In this sequel to Predator, a new alien hunter appears in the urban jungle of Los Angeles in the "future" of 1997. As a fan of John McTiernan's superior sci-fi thriller, Predator, I can enjoy the sequel on the level of more-of-a-good-thing. Unfortunately, it is not a particularly good film. Danny Glover does his best to be a tough, no-nonsense cop, but the role is written so poorly that it comes off as rather lame. The acting is, for the most part, very poor. Especially irritating are Morton Downey Jr. as a sleazy journalist and the usually solid Bill Paxton (playing his typical live-wire character, but here lacking the strong guiding hand of his best directing partner, James Cameron). On the plus side, Rubén Blades provides solid support as Glover's right hand man, Gary Busey is as good as ever, and Calvin Lockhart is brilliant in an all-too-brief part as Jamaican druglord King Willie. Director Stephen Hopkins infuses the film with style and good action, but the film lacks direction. It is also very dated, being an obvious product of 80s-90s transition period.

6/10 -- Good fun for fans of the original, but not likely to win over anyone else

John McTiernan's Predator is a slick, gory thriller with a strong villain and an effectively played hero. Dutch Schaeffer (Arnie) leads a team of elite commandos into the Central American jungle to rescue a cabinet minister. Before long, his team discovers that it is being hunted by a mysterious alien--a being that has travelled to this planet to kill for sport.

Pros: Gorgeous photography (helped in no small part by the beautiful Mexican locations); A brilliant creature design by Stan Winston; Nifty "cloak" effects; Thermo-vision; Tight, energetic direction by McTiernan; and a great score by the underrated Alan Silvestri.

Cons: Highly irritating, overly macho commandos, entirely too convinced of their own "bad-assness"; Poor dialogue; Merely average acting; Jesse Ventura; Jesse Ventura; Some dated effects; Jesse Ventura.

7/10 Good fun, but no match for the superior Alien series